Cadillac ATS General Discussion Forum Discussion, Email Received - "Invitation to ATS Owners from OnStar Market Research" in Cadillac ATS Discussion Forums; Received an email this morning re: market research for the ATS conducted by Cadillac and OnStar. Looks official enough, but ...

Received an email this morning re: market research for the ATS conducted by Cadillac and OnStar. Looks official enough, but I called OnStar (1-888-4-onstar). They weren't able to verify that there was indeed any market research going on. However, after speaking with three people, I'm fairly confident they neither had the resources to verify that the email was legitimate nor direct me to the appropriate person. I decided to check it out anyway, and it appears to be legitimate. After signing up, you end up at an "ATS in Action" forum-type website hosted by Gongos Research.

They have my email address and know I have a 2013 ATS. Sure, it's possible that that is just a coincidence, but it seems unlikely. Also extremely unlikely that GM would sell that information.

The ad came from Survey Gizmo. Reputable company. Sure, that could be spoofed as well, but keep in mind all of the things listed that would need to be faked.

The only information you need to sign up is your email address and your address. They already have my email address. If they somehow were able to get my email address information and know that I have an ATS, not that hard to get an address (since the registration is public information). In other words, I'm not really giving them a whole lot more info then they already have, and the info I am giving is publicly available.

Gongos Research has an extremely legitimate looking webpage (http://www.gongos.com/). There are also a lot of hits when you Google "Gongos Research." Would be a lot of money (hundreds of thousands of dollars) to develop a webpage like that for a scam (unless of course the scammer made it themselves).

The email tells you up front that you will be using your smartphone to submit information (e.g., comments, impressions of vehicle, etc.) and that there is an app associated with the marketing research. Check the App Store. They have an app with over 100 reviews going back almost 3 years (reviews aren't that great, but if you read them, they are all complaints about the UI, app not working, etc.). A scam would have to last a really long time to develop that level of intricacy. Likely it would have been found out as a scam before then. Additionally, with how strict Apple is with their app store offerings, any indication that the app was associated with a scam would get it pulled immediately.

In sum, I'm pretty sure it is legitimate. These thoughts are just off the top of my head, and if something changes I will let you know. My apologies if I got anyone concerned with the initial post - just thought I would ask around if anyone else saw this. I think the moral of the story is that people are skeptical of online content (which is a good thing) and that in the future there should be a better dissemination of information (e.g., a letter in the mail received in concert with the email, a phone call, set up a mechanism by which employees will be informed of the ongoing project so as they can field calls re: the projects, etc.).

I got the email too, but haven't participated yet. I just assumed it was legit; maybe I'm too gullible? Hey they have my email address and they know I drive an ATS and they need my help! Sounds great! Here's my social security number!!

It's all about the price. During my free trial, I'm completely satisfied. When they want me to renew my subscription, they will have to lower the price of OnStar quite a bit. The only thing I use OnStar for is the RemoteLink app. Having OnStar available during a crash is nice to have, but I have never had a crash or been in an accident (over 40 years of driving) so I don't know if the cost/benefit is there.

Bottom line, GM should eat the cost of OnStar and offer it free to all buyers of new GM cars while they continue to own the car, as a way of building goodwill.

It's all about the price. During my free trial, I'm completely satisfied. When they want me to renew my subscription, they will have to lower the price of OnStar quite a bit. The only thing I use OnStar for is the RemoteLink app. Having OnStar available during a crash is nice to have, but I have never had a crash or been in an accident (over 40 years of driving) so I don't know if the cost/benefit is there.

Bottom line, GM should eat the cost of OnStar and offer it free to all buyers of new GM cars while they continue to own the car, as a way of building goodwill.

I agree that GM would need to raise the price of the vehicle by several hundred dollars and there are other options I'd rather have for that money. The one time I've used On-Star was to answer a wrong # call.

I really like having On Star.. It influenced my decision to buy an ATS, instead of an Infinity Q50.. I was a subscriber on the wives 2002 Grand Prix GTP, until her older analog system was shut down..

I liked that you could buy phone minutes cheaply from On Star.. And the car had it's own phone number.. No pairing needed with a cell phone.. And no being without a phone if you forgot your cell..

One time the misses got turned around and lost her way.. So she called On Star.. We weren't subscribed to the Turn By Turn directions.. But she just asked where the highway was.. And the On Star guy told her she was headed in the wrong direction, just turn around and go back the other way..